EAST MEETS WEST IN NORTH CAROLINA!

We are back from China now after a very smooth, successful -and LONG trip!  Josiah is getting settled now. He took everything in stride and was very excited to see his new home and meet his new brothers and sisters and Nana and PoPop. He has an overall good attitude, though I know the language barrier is frustrating at times. We all use a lot of sign language and charades, and I learned a few words in mandarin -not how to speak it but at least how to recognize a few things he is saying. But still, the little guy can get pretty exasperated when we can't figure out what he is trying to tell us. All I can say is: "Help, Pete and Laura B.!-Do you have Skype??".
He absolutely loves getting tickled and wrestling with the boys. Josiah is 8 with some developmental delay, so he fits right in with Ben who is about to turn 9, and Isaac who is 6. The girls (Katie- 12 and Grace 13) are a big help. Josiah is in many ways like a typical 5 or 6 year old boy, but other times he is more like a 2 year old.
So we are all learning to adjust and be watchful over the new little brother. I have to tell you all that when I went to get Josiah MingHua, I really expected the worst. I mean that in the sense that I was trying to prepare myself for many difficulties, not the least of which was his special medical need which had been described to us as total bowel incontinence. According to the doctors' reports, he had what appeared to be a congenital birth defect that might require surgery or might not even be reparable. We had just determined that we were willing to deal with those issues.
Well, I am overjoyed to report to you that he is completely healed of that problem whatever it was. He was wearing a diaper when I got him and they warned me about his "problems". But I simply took him back the hotel and changed him into the pull-ups I had brought along, showed him the western toilet and how to operate it and Stephi explained in her limited but handy Mandarin that he could go any time he needed to. He did fine from then on. No bowel incontinence. He has no problems in that area at all. I am happy to report that we are moving right into big boy pants!.
Sorry if that seems too detailed for some of you. I just want you to know how wonderful this is for him! He has been made to wear diapers his entire life! He was kept from going to "regular school" with the other orphanage children because of his "problem".So he is quite behind in school. He only left the orphanage twice a year for field trips. Other than that he stayed with the other children in the special needs class all the time. He has very little stamina because of staying in so much. But thankfully we have had beautiful weather since we came home and he has been outside with the other kids most of the day playing.
I can report that he seems genuinely happy. Of course it is a bit overwhelming for him and for all of us too. On the first night back,  I woke at about 4 a.m with the greatest sense of panic you can imagine! It really scared me - the thought that there is a new little guy in my house , that now there are five precious children counting on ME every day! And Mark is a world away... I just had to slide out of bed and onto my knees and cry. But our God is so faithful. He met me at that moment with the words from  Zechariah 4:6 (which I did not even know I knew!) "Not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of the Lord Almighty" -  those words ringing over and over in my head.
Thank you all for your prayers. Please keep them up!
Much Love and A Blessed Thanksgiving,